Training

When you're exercising, you may think that you're working your left and right leg muscle groups equally, but are you really? Finnish company Myontec's Mbody system reportedly lets you know. It consists of a sensor-equipped pair of MShorts, an MCell module that plugs into those shorts, and an app that displays the processed data on your mobile device. Read More

A lot of people like to monitor personal stats such as their heart rate while exercising, plus they also like listening to music at the same time. Usually, doing both involves wearing at least a couple of devices at once. iRiver's new On audio headset, however, plays back music and gathers biometric data ... in both cases, through the user's ear. Read More

Although shooting baskets is an important part of basketball training in and of itself, it would certainly be helpful to know how many of your shots actually result in the ball going through the hoop – is your success rate increasing or dropping, and if so, by how much? The Hoop Tracker system is designed to let you know. Read More

A new toilet-training device developed by researchers at the University of Rochester combines a wearable sensor pad, Bluetooth technology, an iOS device and accompanying app to help toilet train intellectually disabled children. Rather than just providing entertainment like the iPotty, the Quick Trainer issues an alert the moment the child starts to pee, so adults can take them to the toilet and encourage them to use it. If all goes well, they are rewarded with treats to encourage them to head to the toilet the next time the need arises. Read More

Parkour is all about hurling yourself quickly and efficiently past whatever obstacles are in your path while maintaining as much momentum as possible. It's a challenge for humans, so how would robots fare? In an effort to push the boundaries of robotic agility, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania decided to find out by teaching their RHex robot some Parkour moves. Read More

Players of the Forza and Gran Turismo race series understand that every little advantage counts when working to trim lap times. In game, details like tires, camber angles, damper settings, plus engine mods are just a few of the tuning tricks to enhance a racer's performance. But deep down, budding racers know that such sops to realism are nothing compared to a full-scale F1 simulator. Luckily for them Costco UK and FMCG International have a solution – a US$116,650 full-scale F1 simulator. Read More

Launched last year, the Suunto Ambit brought a new level of functionality to the GPS watch market. Not only could its GPS keep tabs on your speed, distance and vertical, but it allowed for full navigation functions, routing you in and out of the great outdoors. Suunto has now revealed the second generation of Ambit watches with something for both explorers and athletes. Read More

To be truly world class in any sport requires an innate ability coupled with years of training, usually starting at a very young age. While it's still impossible to engineer what you're born with, it is possible to train until you improve your skill level to a reasonable level. Training aids can be a useful tool, both for building fitness levels and increasing confidence. The people behind the Zero G Soccer Trainer claim their system does just this for aspiring soccer stars. Read More

Like many people, I spend most of my time worrying about the inevitable robot uprising. MIT is doing its bit to put off that day with its experiments in teaching robots and humans to work together peacefully. Using cross-training techniques, the researchers got robots and humans to swap jobs so they could see things from the others' point of view and carry out tasks more efficiently when working together. Read More

For years, snowboarding novices have been forced to meet the sport with a combination of terror and pain. Even the smallest bunny hill is horrifying to look at when your legs are locked into a device that you have no idea how to use. One wrong move and you're eating an unpleasant mix of snow, ice and pride. The new Streetboardz Boarder Kontrol takes some of the intimidation out of learning by giving beginners something they've always wanted: instant braking. Read More